Sexual violence reports skyrocket after #metoo

By Janene Pieters on November 16, 2017 - 11:50

The "Me Too" hashtag gained prominence as a way for victims and witnesses to identify personal accounts of sexual misconduct. image: NL Times

The number of sexual violence victims reporting to one of the Sexual Violence Centers in the Netherlands, skyrocketed as a result of the #metoo discussion about sexual harassment, Ineke Sybesma of the Victim Support Fund said to RTL Nieuws. "With an average of 250 reports in the first months of this year, the reports doubled to 550 in October, and November shows the same picture", she said to the broadcaster.

There are sixteen Sexual Violence Centers in the Netherlands, which receive financial support from the Victim Support Fund. Victims can contact the centers directly, but victims who report to the police are also referred to one of them. In these centers a team of doctors, nurses, police, psychologists, social workers and sexologists work together to get victims of sexual assault and rape the specialist care they need. The aim is to do this within a week of the crime, as this significantly reduces the chance of medical and psychological problems.

Sybesma believes that this increase in reports is still 'just the tip of the iceberg'. According to her, it underlines the need of expert help after sexual assault and rape.